Teachers collect More than 13 months after public school teachers and the state reached agreement on a contract to end a three-week strike, 6,675 teachers with advanced degrees got their 3 percent bonuses.
bonuses
But at least 435 complain they
did not get 3 percent bonuses
for advanced degreesBy Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.comBut the issue is still not settled for at least 435 teachers who did not get the money, which they say they are entitled to.
"I'm frustrated. I'm challenged. It's challenging my finances. It's challenging my whole summer. I can't plan anything," said Marilyn Rodgers, a special-education teacher at Lanikai Elementary School who planned to use the bonus for a trip home to Connecticut.
Rodgers said she confirmed with the state Department of Education that she is due the bonus, which she estimates at roughly $1,000. But she still does not know when she will get it, jeopardizing her plans to see her 90-year-old mother in August.
The 3 percent bonuses held up implementation of the teachers' contract last year when the state and union disagreed over whether the bonuses applied to one or both years of the contract.
The Hawaii Labor Relations Board ruled in February that the bonuses would be paid for the first year and the two sides would have to negotiate for the second year.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association hopes to resume negotiations over the second year of the contract in August.
The 3 percent bonuses were paid in the June 20 paycheck, said Caroline Hasegawa, personnel specialist in charge of teacher reclassification.
Hasegawa said some teachers were missed for unknown reasons, and roughly 435 teachers have asked for a review of their files.
Of the 200 appeals under early investigation, about 45 percent have been approved, she said.
The bonuses were awarded to teachers with advanced degrees, specifically with a master's, a professional diploma or a fifth-year certificate in a teaching field, said Joan Husted, executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
"If you honestly believe you should have gotten the money in accordance with the contractual language, by all means appeal," said Husted, adding that if a teacher still disagrees with the department's findings, the union can file a grievance.
The cost of paying a one-time bonus to about 6,500 teachers had been pegged at $9.7 million.
Hasegawa could not say how long individual appeals would take, adding that her staff of five is working on implementing various portions of the teacher contract.
"We're working on trying to expedite as fast as we can," said Hasegawa, who spent Saturday in the office to help process appeals.
The deadline to appeal is Aug. 20.
Linda Maeda-Lee, a special-education teacher at McKinley High School, was among those who got the bonus.
"I'm just happy to get it because they talked about it for so long, and I'm glad to see that it's finally here," said Maeda-Lee, a DOE teacher for seven years.
"And I have no idea whether the next one is coming or not because it's up in the air, but it would be nice. We worked hard, we got our master's degree. That's what they're trying to fight for. You get paid for what you can do."
State Department of Education
